Beyond the Evolution
by demiducky25
Summary: The lives and adventures of the Xmen right where Evo left off.  Would the Professor’s visions from the mind of Apocalypse come true or were those just future possibilities that are subject to change?
1. Setting the Stage

_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike_

Summary- The lives and adventures of the X-men right where Evo left off. Would the Professor's visions from the mind of Apocalypse come true or were those just future possibilities that are subject to change?

Who- Whoever I can fit in :-P

When- The story starts a few hours after Xavier's speech to the X-men after the defeat of Apocalypse

Beyond the Evolution

_by_ demiducky25

Chapter 1- Setting the Stage

_Thanks to you all, we have averted catastrophe. It was not without its price, however. But steel is forged through fire, and like it we have been made stronger. We are prepared for what the future brings. I know this, because I have glimpsed into the mind of Apocalypse. Many challenges still await us. But I have seen some who were our enemies become friends. And with a heavy heart, I saw the dearest of friends become the most terrible of enemies. I saw my X-Men grow and change and of course, I saw that some people never change. But one thing was clear, that no matter what awaits us, terrible or wondrous... my X-Men will always be there, ready. And of that, I am proud._- Professor Xavier's speech at the end of X-men: Evolution "Ascension."

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Xavier sat in his study and contemplated what he had seen in the mind of Apocalypse. But even for his powerful mind it was too much, and it gave him a headache. Hardly a few hours prior he left his students, as well as their temporary allies, with cryptic words about the future. Despite the headache, he tried to sort out what he had seen. Anti-mutant protesters- did that mean his dream of humans and mutants living peacefully would be even harder than he thought? Magneto training some of the junior X-men- did his old friend finally take him up on the offer to join him in his dream or did the young ones go to Magneto's side? Somehow Xavier believed that it was the former since he could sense the peace in the image as well as the X-men uniforms on the children. The next image was even more disturbing perhaps than any of the others he had seen. It involved Jean Grey being engulfed in flames, and he could sense a darkness as she transformed into something powerful and evil. If he could find a way to stop that, he certainly would. She was the only one able to truly fight him when he was made into one of the Horsemen, so it is possible that she could become even more powerful. He did sense something in her during that battle, but he couldn't figure out what. Another disturbing image involved dozens of flying Sentinels…what did it all mean?!

But other images gave him hope, such as his X-men growing into fine young men and women, some with different powers than they sported now, particularly a flying Rogue was what perplexed him. Could her powers have evolved further? He also reveled in the thought of there being other X-men in the picture that he didn't recognize or rather did recognize as former enemies, such as the Russian and Cajun henchmen of Magneto. Jean was also in that image which gave him some hope for her future. Xavier also contemplated the image of the Brotherhood working for SHIELD. It wasn't what he had imagined them doing, but if it kept them out of trouble, then all the better.

Before Xavier could exacerbate his migraine further with more thinking, a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in Scott," he summoned to his loyal student. The young man entered the study, closed the door, and sat in a chair in front of Xavier's desk. Scott, codenamed Cyclops, wore an expression of great worry on his face. Scott always looked like he had something on his mind, but this time the expression was even more intense. Right away he got down to business.

"Professor, I know you said that you wanted to be alone, but you didn't really tell us what you saw. You just vaguely hinted at things to come. I don't understand."

"Neither do I Scott, neither do I."

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Rogue sat cross-legged on her bed with her head between her hands. She was beyond exhausted. So much had happened lately that she was having trouble processing it all. First, she and her team watched as the Professor and Storm were seemingly destroyed by Apocalypse, then she remembered the sheer horror she felt as they saw their beloved leaders made into pawns of that madman. She remembered the trusting innocence of Dorian Leech as he allowed her to take his powers to save everyone, and she remembered the distain she still felt for Mystique when all was said and done. She couldn't even begin to think about the cryptic message the Professor left with the team as he debriefed them. What enemies would become friends and what friends would become enemies? Would it be her? It wasn't impossible if her psyches acted up again. Somehow she doubted it would be her since she had been in total control of the psyches ever since that time when they took over her consciousness. Still, it was a scary thought to know that someone would betray them, and it could be her as easily as it could be anyone else. Well for whoever it would end up being, she hoped for an accidental betrayal like what happened to Storm and the Professor rather than an intentional betrayal. Finally she remembered the words of Kurt right after she emerged with Logan from the lair of Apocalypse: "_You did it Rogue. The girl who shut herself off from the world just saved it_."

Despite the fact it was still light out, Rogue uncrossed her legs, curled under the covers of the bed she had been sitting on, set her alarm to go off right before dinner, took solace in laying her throbbing head on her pillow, and went to sleep. Rogue smiled at the thought of Kurt's words as she started to lull off to sleep. Perhaps things were starting to look up for her. Who knows what the future would hold for her. _Well, except for maybe Xavier_, she thought to herself before falling asleep.

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Jean Grey stared into the mirror half expecting another person to look back at her, but all she saw was her own reflection. She felt weird, as if another person was quietly whispering into her mind. She tried to convince herself that it had to be the stress of recent events. After all, one doesn't go head-to-head with the Professor in mental combat without some temporary side effects. Unlike most of her teammates, she wasn't feeling tired. Rather, she felt invigorated; she felt like an immense power was flowing through her. She couldn't tell if this "power" was new or dredged up from the deep recesses of her mind. Unlike the time her powers spun out of control, she felt like she was in total command of the situation this time. This feeling both thrilled and frightened her. For a brief second she thought she saw her eyes flash a fiery red-yellow color. Perhaps she was more exhausted than she thought…

However, Jean did not have time to dwell on what was happening inside her head or what she thought she saw in the mirror. Her heightened empathic abilities picked up on the anxiousness she sensed in Kurt and a few of the other younger students. She concentrated for a second on Kurt's thoughts. This was something she normally never did, but for some reason his thoughts, as well as the thoughts of everyone else in the Mansion, seemed strangely amplified. She took a moment to try to suppress the noise all these thoughts produced, but not before she picked up on what got Kurt so agitated. One word screamed out loud and clear: INTRUDERS! Someone that wasn't welcome at the Mansion was on its grounds. Jean splashed cool water on her face to snap herself back to reality and proceeded to make her way downstairs, ready to face whatever challenges awaited her.

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_What on Earth was going on in there_, thought Kitty Pryde. Even with her ear to the door, she still couldn't make out what was being said in Professor Xavier's office. Scott went in to talk to the Professor about what he said to the group earlier that day. She was hoping to get answers just as badly as everyone else. She especially wanted to know what was going to happen with the members of the Brotherhood. After Xavier's speech they split, but she was hoping that part of whatever plan Scott and the Professor had involved bringing Lance into the X-men. Maybe, just maybe…. She thought about partially phasing her ear through the door, just enough to hear but not enough to be seen. She would have done it to, except she was interrupted when Kurt, codenamed Nightcrawler, BAMFED in behind her.

"KITTY," the fuzzy blue mutant exclaimed. He wasn't wearing his "human" disguise created by his image inducer since he was in the safety of the Mansion. However, he wasn't the physical appearance of the young man that startled Kitty, but rather the way he snuck up on her. After all this time she still couldn't get used to the idea of someone appearing out of thin air like that. It was still a bit unnerving. _Then again, so is the idea of being able to phase through a solid object_, she thought recalling her own powers could have a disturbing element about them.

"SHHHHH," Kitty hissed as she turned to face Kurt. "Do you want them to hear us?! I'm trying to find out what's going on!"

"I'll tell you vhat's going on. Ve have intruders! Come on," he said as he grabbed her arm and BAMFED them to the scene of action.

**To be continued…**

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What do the images Xavier saw mean? Will they see fruition or are they just a long-shot possibility? Only time will tell….. Thank you to those of you reading this! I hope you stick around to see what happens next:-)


	2. Enter Magneto's Team

_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike_

Beyond the Evolution

_by_ demiducky25

Chapter 2- Enter Magneto's Team

Two young men stood at a crossroads on the desolate outskirts of Bayville. In front of them they had two options. One path would take them out of the suburban town and into the rural farmlands that stretch on for miles. The other path would take them into Bayville and to Xavier's Mansion. They each had a suitcase and contemplated their next steps.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into dis," the young mutant named Gambit drawled as he took another drag on his cigarette and sat on his suitcase.

His red-on-black eyes clearly identified him as a mutant but could be easily masked with the sunglasses he was currently wearing. His soft brown hair had grown a bit shaggy as of late, partly because the ladies liked to run their hands through it and partly due to the hectic nature of the last few months. He and his traveling companion Colossus had been roving around since Magneto's initial "death." Gambit had only been back to Bayville once since then, to enlist the help of Rogue in his New Orleans adventure, but he didn't want to think about that right now. After New Orleans, Gambit sought out Colossus since he felt that the young Russian was one of the few people he could trust. Gambit went back to Magneto's former lair but only found the fire-controlling Pyro, who claimed that the strong mutant had made his way back to Russia. Apparently that had not been the case as Gambit was contacted by Colossus a few days later to meet him back at Magneto's lair to discuss something of great importance.

Colossus explained to Gambit that he fought along side of the X-men during their battle with Apocalypse, and Professor Xavier extended an open-door policy to anyone who wanted to join the team permanently. Magneto was still no where to be found. He disappeared after the battle, perhaps hidden somewhere by his children Wanda and Pietro. Colossus stated that he came back to the hideout to gather his belongings and was hoping that Gambit and Pyro would join him. Gambit accepted but Pyro rejected, claiming that he enjoyed having the place all to himself. A few hours later, Gambit and Colossus found themselves standing out on those crossroads.

Gambit looked around from his suitcase perch and muttered, "Dis is jus' crazy."

"Well leave if you want, but where else do we have to go," sighed Colossus, a tall, muscular mutant holding a suitcase with all of his worldly possessions. "Magneto knew what happened to my family and now that he's gone, I have no reason to be connected to him." His gentle nature and captivating Russian accent made him a favorite with the ladies, and combined with his shyness made him an unlikely henchman for Magneto.

"I wouldn' count Magneto out jus' yet. He'll more than likely turn up again, jus' you wait an' see."

"Perhaps. In any event, I am hoping the X-men will be willing to help me, despite the troubles I caused for them in the past. Something tells me that they will. Xavier would not have made that offer if he did not mean it."

"Well aren't you de optimist."

"Look, I said you could go. But from what little I do know about you, it seems like you have nothing but trouble waiting for you in New Orleans."

_And I'll have nothing be trouble waiting for me here_, thought Gambit as he recalled Wolverine's words to him as he shoved him against in tree in New Orleans. Still, the idea of seeing Rogue again, perhaps on a more day-to-day basis did excite him, even if it meant the possibility of bodily harm from the slightly feral, older mutant. Gambit took a final drag on his cigarette before depositing it in the ground and crushing its dying embers with his boot. He rose and picked up the suitcase he had previously been sitting on. "Naw, I've gotta go wit' you. Someone's gotta keep on eye on you."

Colossus smiled at those words. He hated to admit it, but the young thief was the closest thing he had to a friend at the moment. Despite his sordid past, Gambit had proven to him to be a loyal friend and ally. Hopefully the X-men could see those same traits in both of them.

"Let us get going then," Colossus said. Together the two of them made their away down the road, towards the gates of the Mansion in the distance.

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While Magneto's two former lackeys made their way onto the Mansion's property, Kurt and Kitty appeared in the foyer of the Mansion surrounded by a puff of fire and brimstone smoke. They were not alone as a number of the younger X-men were waiting there to see who was approaching.

"Let's get'em," shouted a young Bobby Drake as he prepared to ice up.

"Cool it Drake, or rather un-cool it in your case," ordered Jean Grey as she made her way down the stairs. "Professor Xavier invited them, remember?"

"Ze Professor invited ze taller one if I recall because he aided us in our battle with Apocalypse, but ze other one has caused us nothing but trouble," spit Kurt as he recalled that Gambit kidnapped Rogue a while back. At 17, he was a year younger than Rogue, but Kurt felt it was his duty to watch out for her as she was like a sister to him. Mystique was Kurt's biological mother, and she was Rogue's mother figure for quite a while. In Kurt's mind, that made them family.

Before the situation could escalate, Professor Xavier and Scott made their way towards the door.

"Ahhh, judging from everyone's apprehension, I can tell that our guests must be fast approaching," stated Professor Xavier. He proceeded to open the door, greeted the two young men, and beckoned them to follow him to the large sitting room adjacent to the foyer. Naturally, everyone else present followed them.

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"…and that completes what I have to say about the mission of this Institute as well as the ground rules. If you feel that you can meet these conditions, then I welcome both of you to stay," said Professor Xavier to the young men sitting before him. In his speech he not only informed the newest recruits of their roles, but reminded the others sitting there that they should not judge these two new members until they had a chance to prove themselves. That last factor was specifically targeted to a sulking Kurt and a slightly hostile Wolverine, whom had joined the group in the sitting room after getting a whiff of the Cajun's smell on school grounds. He leaned against a door-frame directly across the room and scowled at the young man.

"Professor, we thank you for your offer and we accept. We hope that in time we can prove ourselves to be valuable and loyal teammates," said Colossus as he glanced around the room at the faces staring at them. He was surprised to be met with a few smiles as he seemed to be genuinely sincere.

This comment seemed to appease many of the people present, including Wolverine whom had encountered Colossus privately once in the past and felt that the young man could be trusted. He knew that his allegiance to Magneto was forced in a way, but he wasn't sure about the specifics other than it had to do with his family. He then looked at the other young man whom he didn't really trust, especially after Rogue's kidnapping and said, "What about you Gambit, do you have anything to say?"

Gambit drew in a breath, stood up straight, and gathered his pride. "If you are implyin' dat I am not equally as gracious for t'Professor's offer, den you are mistaken. All I can promise is dat I will try. Can you promise t'same, _mon ami_?" He glared at Wolverine, as if to challenge him to be nice to him.

"We'll see, Cajun," smirked Wolverine as he made his way closer to Gambit. "Just know that you will be my personal sparring partner for the next few Danger Room sessions. Consider it _my_ way of _welcoming_ you to the team." At this point, the two men were almost face to face, glaring at each other.

"Well, now that that's all settled," interrupted Scott before a situation could arise. He walked between the Wolverine and Gambit and motioned to the newest recruits to follow him. "Why don't I show you to your quarters. The rest of you, go get ready for dinner."

With that, the younger X-men dispersed, many to go find friends who were not present for the events that unfolded in the past hour. Jean Grey, Professor Xavier, and Wolverine stayed behind while the Professor mentally summoned Storm, whom had been helping some of the students make tonight's dinner, so that they could brief her on what just occurred.

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"This is where you will be staying," said Scott as he showed the two young men to a large bedroom upstairs. "I don't think you will mind being roommates since you seem to know each other. Dinner's in ten minutes. You have the rest of the evening to unpack and get to know some of the others living here, but be ready for tomorrow's Danger Room session at 6am. See you downstairs."

After dispensing his rapid-fire of information, Scott went back downstairs. Once Scott was out of visual range, Gambit gave a mock salute then turned to face Colossus. He looked around the room and gave a low whistle. "I've gotta admit, I could get use t'livin' like dis again. I haven't had a room dis nice since I lived in Nawlins."

Colossus nodded in agreement as he placed his suitcase on the bed on the right side of the room. He proceeded to walk to the window. "Yes, it is quite nice. The view of the garden is nice too; perhaps I will have the chance to take up painting again."

Gambit joined him at the window. Though rather than concentrating on the rosebushes below, his attention was captured by someone in the room directly across the courtyard from theirs. Rogue had just gotten out of bed from her nap, and she had made her way to the window to close the curtains. Gambit couldn't help but grin slightly, "I agree, _mon ami_. No one could ask for a better view."

**To be continued…**

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Yes, I borrowed and converted this chapter title from an episode of the original animated series, but it just seemed fitting.

I will be going away on vacation and will more than likely not be able to post next Wednesday as I intended, but I will try to have chapter 3 ready for the following week!

Thanks to those readers who commented on the last chapter. I really value your input and tried to answer all of the signed ones. I don't think I missed any, but I am sorry if I did! I hope you continue to enjoy this story!


	3. If you can’t take t’heat …

_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike_

Beyond the Evolution

_by_ demiducky25

Chapter 3- If you can't take t'heat …

Rogue shuttered as she closed her bedroom window, not because it was cold out, but rather she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She sat at the vanity table she and Kitty shared and reapplied her deep lilac lipstick. She would have finished applying it perfectly if Kitty had not phrased through the door screaming her name.

"ROGUE," Kitty shrieked at near ear-drum piercing levels. This caused Rogue to apply her lipstick halfway across her cheek. She got out of the chair and faced Kitty with a look of annoyance.

The bubbly brunette couldn't help but stifle a laugh, "Nice. Trying a new look?"

Rogue just glared at her as she pushed her way past her roommate and headed towards the bathroom they shared to get a tissue.

Kitty couldn't help but innocently proclaim, "What? You'd think after all this time of sharing a room with me, you'd totally be used to it."

Rogue contemplated the comment for a second. Kitty had a point. The two of them had been roommates for quite a while and this wasn't the first time (nor would it probably be the last time) Kitty exuberantly came into the room without using a door, screeching excitedly about something. Once she sufficiently cleaned her cheek, Rogue sat back at the vanity and went back to reapplying the lipstick. "Well, what is it Kitty? What couldn't ya wait to tell me?"

"We have new recruits! Both are former allies of Magneto- the tall handsome Russian who fought with us against Magneto and your cute Cajun friend."

This time Rogue was barely able to keep the lipstick from straying to her cheek. She put the tube down before she could do damage again. "Ohh" was all she managed to say. Kitty didn't seem to notice Rogue's shift in behavior and continued to fill her in on the details.

"At first everyone was a bit nervous about them joining, ESPECIALLY Kurt and Wolverine, though you know specifically why. But somehow I think it will totally work out fine. I mean the Professor is confident and he's rarely wrong. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see what develops. What do you think Rogue? Rogue? Rogue, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh yeah Kitty, Ah'm listening. Ah was just contemplating what ya said about one of the new recruits," she said without realizing she said it out loud. How could she explain to Kitty what had occurred between her and Gambit in New Orleans a few months ago? Did something occur between them or was it completely in Rogue's head from passing thoughts she accidentally absorbed from Gambit?

"OOOOOOOOO, and what is that exactly," Kitty was all ears for this latest piece of potential gossip.

Rogue finally got a hold of her senses and looked at her best friend with a smirk, "Ya called our Russian battle ally handsome, does Lance have something to be worried about?"

This time it was Kitty's turn to feel uncomfortable and on the spot. "Oh my God, OF COURSE NOT," she squealed while turning red. "There's..there's no harm in saying that someone is good looking, it's like admiring a piece of fine art." Kitty stopped stammering and realized that she needed to change the subject. "Anyway, rather than using that lipstick, you should TOTALLY try my new lipgloss, I think you'll like it WAY better. You've been promising to let me do a make-over on you for MONTHS!"

Rogue inwardly groaned at the prospect. She knew Kitty meant well, and she was aware of the fact that she sometimes used colors that were a bit too dark for her 18 years of age, but at the moment she was happy with how it seemed to outwardly mask her insecurities. Besides, she couldn't shake the memory of Kitty's "make-over" on sleeping Bobby from this past year's April Fool's Day joke. She knew Kitty wouldn't intentionally make her look like a streetwalker the way she did with the unsuspecting Bobby, or "Booby" as the male recruits christened him upon seeing his new look when he stumbled down the stairs for breakfast without realizing how he looked, but still, the idea made her uncomfortable.

"One of these days Kitty, Ah promise ya, "Rogue said as she sat on her bed, pulling on a pair of black combat boots. "But right now, all Ah want to do is eat, Ah'm famished and Ah don't care what's for dinner!"

"You've said it Rogue! All this excitement today has left me starving!"

Together, the two young X-women proceeded to the dining hall, this time using the door instead of phrasing through it.

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Dinnertime at the Mansion was as close to controlled chaos as one could possible get. The mere feat of feeding over a dozen teenagers would be enough to drive anyone crazy, which is why the students took turns on "cafeteria duty," helping to prepare the meals for that day. This particular dinner was prepared under the supervision of Storm by a number of the younger "New Mutants" as many of the 16 and under set called themselves. Mealtimes were now held in a large dining hall, which had formerly seen life as a ballroom. For generations, Xavier's family had hosted lavish parties in that room. Professor Xavier could remember as a young boy sitting with his sickly mother as she recalled tales of grand parties from her own youth as well as from generations before her.

Despite her claims earlier about not caring what was for dinner, Rogue soon found out that the "Mutant Mystery Meat" prepared by the New Mutants was just as unappetizing as it looked. She slipped out of the dining hall, which was not a hard task to do as Kurt was occupying Kitty by making his meatloaf dance, and made her way to the kitchen.

Rogue went to the fridge and started to rummage through it, not realizing that she wasn't alone in the room. She was in the process of grabbing a left over bucket of fried chicken when she heard a voice that made her jump out of her skin.

"Couldn't stomach dat lousy excuse for food either? But really, what was it dat brought you into t'kitchen? T'smell of my illustrious cookin' or just my mere presence?"

Rogue left the poultry in the fridge and closed the door, revealing the sight of Gambit standing next to the stove, smirking at her. At first Rogue wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't seen Gambit since their New Orleans adventure a few months ago, and while she wasn't mad at him for what he had done, she couldn't explain why she wasn't exactly comfortable to be in the same room as him. She felt something in him when she had accidentally absorbed him when they were trying to break into the Rippers Headquarters. She knew that he had feelings of some sort for her, or at least he had at the time, who knows if he still felt that way. But Rogue was so accustomed to being used by the people that claimed to care about her that she couldn't let go of the nagging doubt in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes for a second and all the memories of their last exchange came rushing back to her:

_"You've had it Bub!"_

_In one fell swoop, Logan managed to lift Gambit with one hand by the collar of his shirt and pin him against a tree. His unsheathed claws were inches away from rearranging the frightened young man's face._

"_Logan stop," Rogue called out, making her way over from where Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler were waiting. "Please leave him alone!"_

_Logan looked over at her, then back at Gambit, tempted for a moment to ignore her request. But the thought of upsetting the girl who was like a daughter to him was too overbearing. He growled, his eyes glancing back at her before dropping his captive in a less than gentle manner. He retracted his claws and made his way back over to the other X-men. While passing Rogue he grumbled: "I'm gonna want some answers, Rogue"_

_"You'll get them. Everything's Ok." She was trying to reassure him as much as she was trying to reassure herself. She looked back at Gambit who was ringing the water from the bayou out of his trenchcoat._

_He looked at her with an expression that she didn't recognize. She wasn't sure if it was guilt, fear, affection, or something else. "Rogue...," he started to say before she cut him off._

_"Don't." She didn't want to hear any explanation he had. She was too angry and yet she really wasn't. She knew that he cared for her; she sensed that in his thoughts when she absorbed him. He had been using her, but at the same time he wanted what was best for her, to get to know her better, and to ultimately win her over. As much as she wanted that, wanted him, she needed him to prove that he wasn't just going to use her. That he wanted something more, something deeper. He had to prove to her that he wasn't going to hurt her the way everyone else in her life had managed to somehow hurt her. "You just did the wrong thing for the right reasons"_

_She thought he briefly had a hurt expression on his face, like she had done something to wound him deep down; not that he didn't deserve it, considering the circumstances, but he quickly recovered. He asked her, "So what now?"_

_"I'm going back with the X-men, I don't care what you do," she stated, hoping that she sounded more convincing than she felt._

_Any trace of his earlier wounded expression was gone, as if he either didn't care what she thought or he knew deep down that she didn't mean what she said. His face revealed his usual carefree smirk. "Sure you don't."_

"_Well...I better go." It was a good thing that her back was to him, or else he might have seen the small smile that was creeping across her face. She started to walk away again when she felt him grab her hand and slip something into her palm._

"_You will be fine Cherie, you got people watchin' over you."_

_Once he walked away with his father she opened her hand to find the queen of hearts card. She knew instinctively that Gambit was going to be one of those people watching over her._

However, Rogue hadn't expected that she and Gambit would meet up again so soon. She was hoping it wouldn't be for a while, once she had time to completely process what had happened in New Orleans. Granted, it had been a few months, but much of her time lately was spent with the X-men trying to save the world, so she didn't have much time to contemplate her personal life. She also thought that Gambit would be watching her from afar, not from inside her own house. There was no point in dwelling on the various "what if" and "if only" scenarios now. He was now going to be part of her daily life, and she would have to find a way of cooping with it like a normal human being. She would have to sort out any feelings she had for him, if she still had any, later when he wasn't around. Rogue liked to think that she wasn't like most girls her age, especially when it came to interactions with the opposite sex, but she couldn't help but have this feeling inside when she was around Gambit, and she really didn't know how to explain it.

While all these thoughts processed through her head for what felt like hours, in reality only a few seconds had passed. Gambit continued with his one-sided conversation.

"Because if it wasn't my cookin' dat brought you in here, it must den be me. Certainly, Chere, you didn't have to sneak around jus' to spend some time with little old Gambit."

Rogue felt the words pouring out of mouth without thinking, "Why on Earth would Ah want to spend some time with ya?" It was easy being standoffish with the rest of the world, but somehow she doubted this was the way she was supposed to act in front of someone she could potentially have feelings for.

Gambit, however, didn't seem to mind and in fact seemed delighted to refute what she said. "Why because of my charmin' good looks, winnin' smile, and wonderful personality," he gloated as he raised his eyebrows towards her.

Rogue gave a curt snort and replied, "Well, aren't we modest."

"Well, you know the sayin', 'If you've got it, flaunt it.'"

"Ya are infuriating, ya do know that," she said as she turned to make her way out of the kitchen, forgetting to grab anything that resembled dinner. Luckily she had a hidden stash of snacks in her room because she didn't think she could stomach eating with him. He both fascinated and infuriated her at the same time. What that normal? She couldn't help but overheard what he shouted to her as he proceeded to take what he was cooking out of the stove and set it on the counter.

"You know what dey say Rogue, if you can't take t'heat…"

She couldn't see him, but she could just sense he was wearing that devil-may-care smirk.

**To be continued…**

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Just when I get back from vacation I have to go away again! (Not like this will ever happen again mind you since the real world is just waiting for this summer to end…) I guess I'll have to try for bi-weekly updates for now, look for it on Wednesdays. The next tentative day for an update is Wednesday, August 8th. I hope you are continuing to enjoy this story as it slowly starts to build (I'm taking my time with this one so I hope you are in for a long haul). Special thanks to those of you who took the time to leave a comment, I really appreciate the feedback, and I'm thrilled to know that you are personally enjoying this story. :-)


	4. A Different Kind of Heat

_Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters. I am not making any money off of this and I am just writing it for the benefit of my own entertainment as well as the entertainment of the other fans out there. Also, this is a story from my own imagination, any resemblance to real life events, or even those in fiction is completely coincidental. As an additional note, there are so many fan fiction stories out there on this site as well as others, so any similarity is coincidental or great minds just happen to think alike_

Beyond the Evolution

_by_ demiducky25

Chapter 4- A Different Kind of Heat

The next few weeks in the Mansion went uncharacteristically normal for the X-men. It was almost a little unnerving having nothing to fight and some of the X-men wondered if there could ever be anything as challenging as their battle with Apocalypse. However, the unsettling peace was broken in late August when the teenaged mutants realized that they would have to go back to school soon and this time they were all "outted" as mutants due to the heavy TV exposure of their recent exploits. Some, like Rogue, Jean, and Scott, had dealt with this already towards the end of the last school year, but many of the younger ones didn't have their identities publicized until more recently when it was revealed that the Xavier Institute was indeed a safe house for mutants. Many pleaded with the Professor to allow them to quit Bayville High and tried to get him to home school them. A few feared that being exposed as mutants meant that they wouldn't have many of their former friends anymore, but most feared for their safety. Xavier tried to convince the students that it would be worse for them to hide in fear than to publicly accept whatever people would throw at them, literally or figuratively, but most were left feeling anxious. A few months ago, before the situation with Apocalypse, some students were pulled out of the Mansion by their parents, though some like Jubilee had been returned either through the child's insistence or because the parents simply did not know what to do with a child with special abilities.

This school year would be very different for Scott and Jean as well. Having graduated Bayville High, they would not be returning to the high school this year and could not watch out for the younger students. Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt, a senior and juniors respectively, were given the charge of keeping an eye out for the younger mutants. Scott was planning on attending a nearby college and would continue to live at the Mansion, so he would readily be available to help if need be. Jean, who originally had the same plan as Scott, recently changed her mind and decided to accept admissions to a college in Boston at nearly the last possible minute. This came as a surprise to nearly everyone, especially Scott, who had been spending the summer trying to figure out why Jean seemed to be acting a little differently than usual. The Professor kept telling him that Jean was just asserting her independence and that going away to school would be good for both of them, but he wasn't entirely convinced and he ended up confronting her about it the day before she left.

"Jean, may I come in," Scott asked as he knocked on the door of her room.

"Of course," she replied.

He opened the door and noticed that she was in the process of trying to close a rather large and quite overstuffed suitcase. He also noticed that her room was virtually empty, except for some posters that remained on the walls and a few other possessions that she wasn't planning on taking with her. A few other packed suitcases and boxes sat idly in a corner.

"Do you want some help with that," he asked, gesturing to the bulging piece of luggage.

Jean smiled at him. "That would be great, thanks! I've been trying to get this thing closed for about 10 minutes and nothing seems to be working. Perhaps if I sit on it and you try to zip it, we might actually get it shut."

They silently followed Jean's plan, and sure enough, were able to get the suitcase shut. Jean stood up and gave Scott a hug. "Thanks hun, I couldn't have done it without you."

As she started to pull out of the hug, Scott kept a tight hold on her. "Listen Jean," he said as his eyes masked with special protective sunglasses met hers, "I think we need to talk about what's going on. You've been acting differently towards me all summer. Now I can't stop you from going away, and the Professor thinks it's a good idea, but I think I at least deserve to know why and I deserve to know what's going to happen with us."

Rather than get angry or defensive, as she had previously when he tried to confront her about her plans, Jean took his hands and motioned him to come sit down on the bed next to her, suggesting that they might be in for a long talk.

Jean took a minute to collect her thoughts before speaking. "Scott, I know I haven't been entirely fair to you this summer. I have been acting differently towards everyone because I feel different. I don't know why exactly, but ever since I battled the Professor, I have had this feeling that maybe I need to push myself a little further. I've always tried to conform to the molds that people have put me in, whether it's my parents, the Professor, the other X-men, and even you. I feel like I'm losing my own personal identity a bit trying to be what everyone wants me to be. When I fought the Professor, I was on my own. I had to rely on myself and my own intuition. I haven't had to do that for quite a while, and I liked it. I want more of it. That's why I need to get away. I want to be able to explore all of my potential. I want to establish a new identity. I've been the athlete, the good-girl, the diligent daughter, the obedient student, and part of a couple for so long that I feel like I'm starting to forget exactly who Jean Grey is. I know I'm rambling and I don't know if this makes any sense to anyone but me, but I HAVE to do this. I hope you can understand it.

"No, I don't understand it Jean. I can't pretend that I do. But what I can do is accept your decision and hope that you find what you are looking for."

Jean leaned over and gave him a long, passionate kiss. "I love you Scott, no one except for you could be so wonderful about this," she said when they finally broke their hold. "I don't want anything to change between us, and I know we can make a long distance relationship work. I know it's not fair to ask this of you, but I'm willing to make it work if you are. Besides, Boston's really not that far from here, only a couple of hours by car."

Scott smiled, "Of course I am. I just hope I don't hear about any of those Boston boys hitting on you or I'll have to think about transferring up there myself."

Jean laughed and gave him another reassuring kiss. As he helped Jean carry her belongings downstairs and load them into one of the cars in the garage, Scott couldn't help but think that he and Jean could be facing more obstacles in their relationship than he cared to encounter.

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Wolverine drove Jean up to Boston the next day. In a surprise turn of events, Rogue also joined Jean for the trip, stating that she could use some time out of the Mansion, and muttered something about getting away from that Cajun under her breath. Jean and Rogue had never been particularly close, but Jean was happy for her company. She felt that Rogue was the only person in the Mansion who could truly understand what it was like to not feel like yourself. Even though they didn't have the type of friendship that allowed them to talk about such things, Jean felt better just having her there. They chatted about casual things on the ride up to Boston. Jean was happy that Scott decided not to go with her, she was afraid she'd back out last minute if he went with her to the college. Finally, they arrived on campus. The school Jean decided to attend was a rather large university where she hoped she could just blend in and not be recognized as "that mutant girl" from the news reports. As is typical with the news, the stories quickly shifted away from the mutant mania and onto yet another celebrity getting into trouble and checking into rehab. If anyway outright recognized Jean, Rogue, and Logan as they carried boxes and bags up to Jean's dorm room, no one made an issue of it. After fumbling with the keycard Jean was given at the front desk upon checking in, they were finally able to make it into the room. It appeared that Jean's roommates had already moved in earlier that day, though neither was in the room. The one single bed was covered with a pure white, fluffy comforter. The other beds were bunked and the top bunk contained a comforter with patterns of stars on a midnight blue sky. Three desks were lined up on one side of the room and three dressers sat on the opposite wall. The empty desk and dresser were meant for Jean, as was the empty bottom bunk bed.

Rogue glanced around the room. "Looks like ya're in for some fun Jean. Just by looking at their stuff, these other two girls seem like they are as different as can be."

Rogue's observation seemed to ring true. The one desk were littered with pictures of high school sporting events, family camping trips, and other activities while the other desk contained only one picture of a young woman in a white pageant dress being crowned Miss something or another.

After a few more glances around the room, they started to unpack Jean's belongings. Rogue and Jean were putting the last of Jean's clothes into a dresser while Logan fiddled with putting Jean's computer together, muttering some choice words about Hank's directions, when two girls unlocked the door and entered the room. At first, there was some awkward staring as none of the girls knew what to say. Jean took a moment to take the girls in mentally. She could easily match which girl belonged to which bed. Both girls had blonde hair, though they wore it differently. The girl closest to the door seemed slightly taller, had a tanned, athletic look to her, and wore her hair in a long pony tail down her back. The other girl had her permed blonde cut to her shoulders, wore a white sundress, and had a completion pale enough to rival Rogue's. After a moment, the girl wearing a white sundress (who was the obvious owner of the white bedspread) cleared her throat and started to talk.

"Well, we might as well get this awkwardness over with and start with the introductions. I've never been one for just waiting around for other people to make the first move. My name is Emma Frost, double major in business and psychology is my intended goal." She seemed to be mentally sizing Jean up and did not extend her hand.

"And I'm Carol Danvers," said the other girl as she extended her hand to Jean. "I'm a physics major and I hope to work on constructing aircrafts someday. The whole idea of flying just fascinates me. You must be wondering why we are already settled in. Emma and I both live in the area, in fact, we went to high school together so we were able to get here rather early in the morning so that we'd have the rest of the day to explore campus."

Carol turned to face Rogue and shook her gloved hand, "I'm sorry, but have we met before. You look awfully familiar."

"No, Ah don't think so," said Rogue, hoping that Jean's new roommate didn't recognize her from news reports.

Jean took a minute to introduce Rogue and Logan to her new roommates and then introduced herself, stating that her major was undeclared at the moment since she was stuck between psychology and biology and wasn't sure what direction she wanted to go.

"That's why I decided on a double major early on," stated Emma as a matter-of-factly. "I figured I can't be a good CEO if I don't have the business background and I have a better chance of understanding my competitors if I know how to work them mentally."

"Well Jean," Logan said, motioning to Rogue that it was time to hit the road, "We'd better get going if we want to make it back to Bayville before it gets to late. You ok unpacking the rest of your stuff alone?"

"Oh don't worry," said Carol, "We'll help her out and take good care of her, right Emma?"

"Sure, why not," replied the other girl.

Once Logan and Rogue left, Jean started to wonder if perhaps leaving the safety of Xavier's mansion had been a mistake. But her fears quickly diminished when Carol grabbed an end of Jean's comforter and started to help her make the bed. They talked casually about their lives, though Jean made sure to leave certain mutant aspects out, discussed what campus activities from the brochure sounded good, and basically got to know each other. Jean learned that Carol and Emma both attended a private school in the Boston area and despite their differences were actually good friends. While Jean headed to the bathroom that they shared with the girls in the room next-door in order to drop of her toiletries, Carol and Emma proceeded to help unpack the last remaining box. Carol lined Jean's books on the bookshelf above her desk and Emma placed framed photographs on the dresser. She paused when she got to Scott's graduation picture. Luckily, both Jean and Carol were out of ear shot and couldn't hear Emma mutter to herself "Now _who_ is this _delight_? I wouldn't mind helping myself to some of that!"

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After spending the rest of the day unpacking, exploring campus, and getting to know her roommates, Jean was nearly asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. She decided that her roommates weren't too bad. She felt that she and Carol would probably be more suited to be better friends but even Emma, who was a bit gruff and forward, seemed to mean well and took a liking to Jean. Unfortunately, Jean's night didn't go as well as her day had. Her dreams were filled with disturbing images of fire and screams and she felt hot as if she was on fire herself. She woke up with a small scream and realized that the dorm fire alarm was going off. Emma was in the process of pulling on a robe and trying to prod Carol out of bed.

"Oh good Jean, you're up. I was hoping you wouldn't be as sound of a sleeper as Carol is here. I don't think I could tolerate having to get both of you up every time the fire alarm goes off."

Jean must have given Emma a strange look because she proceeded to go into further explanation. "My older brother Christian said that freshman dorms are notorious for having the fire alarm go off on a regular basis, usually because someone does something stupid like get drunk and try to cook a bagel in the microwave for 10 minutes. It's usually nothing, but they still make us get out at these ungodly hours just in case."

Emma finally managed to get Carol off the top bunk and the three girls made their way outside to the fire drill meeting ground for their dorm. But Jean couldn't help but think that maybe Emma was wrong. She couldn't help but think that this fire alarm was caused by her rather than an inexperienced drunk freshman. That dream had been too real; she could feel the flames on her face. Why didn't her roommates feel the heat in their room also? How come this was happening to her? She had hoped to escape some of her mutant issues in Boston, and she prayed that this wouldn't happen again.

**To be continued…**

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So of course I decide to post Chapter 3 while, unbeknownst to me, the website was experiencing difficulties. ACK! I hope it works out better when posting this chapter! I am VERY shocked that I got this chapter out on time since I just got back from vacation where my boyfriend proposed! (Which means for a while I'll have to fight myself not to make EVERY chapter fluffy and romantic!) That being said, don't expect me to update on time all the time:-P I do hope to update in two weeks though, so stay tuned!


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